Regent Park Film Festival

We’re checking in on our three Live it to Learn it interns. All three participants were selected to take part in our paid internship series that provides work experience behind the scenes in Toronto’s TV and film industry. Let’s see what they’ve been up to.

Visiting the Set Kim’s Convenience

Nathan Allen was on the set of Kim’s Convenience for the two weeks while they were shooting this summer.

I studied at York University and have a background in film editing. Ultimately, I would like to become an editor.

What are some of the highlights from your time on set?

Getting to learn a lot of details on all roles on set, having the opportunity to ask really technical questions and more creative ones as well. And making connections with all the different departments people on set.

Once the crew realized that I was most interested in editing they made sure to focus on exposing me to aspects of post-production, like making time for me to sit in on the editing process and ask question and visiting with Deluxe Toronto, the colour correction house for Kim’s.

What’s next for you?

I’d like to join the directors guild and start making my way as an editor.

Behind the Scenes at Production House Sim

Chelsey Payette and Michael Amponsah are both currently interning at Sim. They’re working in the production house learning about all the equipment that helps to bring the stories to the big screen. Both Chelsey and Michael rotated through 2-week intensives with the grip and camera departments and next week they’ll begin their rotations on Frankie Drake Mysteries and Murdoch Mysteries.

Live it to Learn it intern Chelsey Payette testing the Alexa Camera at Sim

Chelsey on getting familiarized with Alexa camera

The camera is honestly a work of art.

Josh from the Sim Warehouse was nice enough to set up an Alexa Camera for me so that I could play around with it. It’s a $100,000+ camera and I’m blown away by it. As someone who was never studied film I’ve never even been in the same room as a camera that advanced. It’s surprisingly user friendly, and if you’re good with computers and have a working knowledge of photography it isn’t hard to pick up how to use the camera. Assembling it is another story. It’s completely customisable with different handles, batteries, viewfinders, monitors, cables, extensions, lenses, and who knows what else. Not to mention the custom heavy-duty tripod it sits on. The camera is honestly a work of art.

View the gallery below to see some of Michael’s photos from his time at Sim.

ICYMI or if you’d just like to re-watch the Talkback after our Whose Streets? program check it out below. Moderated by Toronto journalist Desmond Cole and featuring Ravyn Wngz, Gloria Swain and Uranranebi Agbeyegbe.

Digital activism can take shape in many forms. We take this journey into Digital Activism and resistance through the lens of collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists. How do we work together to engage our common struggles and navigate the differences – both in the art we produce and the process of production?

The panel welcomes the artist pairing of Kiley May and John Greyson, Milisse Watson and Amber Williams-King, as well as Sara DeCarlo and Kehinde Bah. Each pair will share their collaboration and process. The panel will be moderated by artist Archer Pechawis.

Toronto – Thursday, Oct 12, 2017, The Regent Park Film Festival in partnership with Charles Street Video (CSV) and York University Libraries launches a nationwide project addressing an important gap in our national archives.

Home movies capture important memories for families; they also provide insight into the history of communities and family relations. Currently, archives in Canada lack a repository of home movies from Indigenous people and Visible Minorities.

Today, as old film reels and videotapes threaten to fall apart with time, Home Made Visible seeks out, preserves and celebrates this important history.

“… My mother would bring out the projector and we’d watch the movies as a family. It was never a production for others. It was about seeing ourselves.” fromNotes on a photograph in Sea in the Blood by Richard Fung, Project Advisory Member

The project launches with a collection phase, asking Indigenous and Visible Minority individuals to find their old tapes, and send them our way for free digitization. In return, we request them to select a short excerpt from their home movies and donate a copy of it to the York University Libraries for archiving. All rights to home movies remain with the participating individual or families.

Working with Charles Street Video, the Project will commission six media artworks. Three Indigenous and three Visible Minority filmmakers will be invited to make work that reflects on how our diverse histories converge on this land, and how can we reimagine the terms in which we shape our shared future.

“So much of the stories that are told about Indigenous and Visible Minorities are about adversity, and those are important stories to tell. What is also important is the strength, the flare, the play, the joy that makes up who we are, and home movies are a great way to remember that.” Ananya Ohri, Artistic Director, Home Made Visible and Executive Director of the Regent Park Film Festival.

The completed works by the filmmakers and selected home movie footage for which we have permission, will be toured across library systems in Canada.

“Our involvement with Home Made Visible aligns with our strategic objectives at York University, especially collaborative community engagement that result in societal benefit. Joy Kirchner, Dean of Libraries, York University Libraries

For a full summary of the project see below.

This is one of the 200 exceptional projects funded through the Canada Council for the Arts’ New Chapter program. With this $35M investment, the Council supports the creation and sharing of the arts in communities across Canada.

Home Made Visible The Canadian archives are lacking in home movie footage from families of colour. Home Made Visible works to preserve the personal history of Indigenous and Visible Minority communities and to explore how archives have the power to shape who we become and how we relate to one another.

Regent Park Film Festival Toronto’s only free community film festival. In addition to the annual film festival and Under the Stars: Movies in the park we host year-round film screenings, school programs and workshops, all at no cost.

Charles Street Video (CSV) is a non-profit production organization established in 1981 to help support media artists. They provide affordable access to equipment and post-production editing facilities for creating videos, films, installations and other media art forms. They regularly offer workshops, training sessions, and residencies. Their ethos is largely focused on encouraging an artisanal, ‘do-it-yourself’ professionalism.

York University Libraries York University Libraries is the library system of York University. The four main libraries and one archive contain more than 2,500,000 volumes. York University Libraries is the stewardship of York’s research assets, with a focus on the active selection, storage, preservation, and sharing of its collections.